I. ASCRC General Education Form
Group
VIII – Ethics and Human Values / and Group X – Global Perspectives
Dept/Program
History
Course #
335
Course Title
Prerequisite
International Human Rights
None
Credits
3
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Date
Paul Lauren
243-4086
paul.lauren@mso.umt.edu
Program Chair
Richard Drake
Dean
Jerrry Fetz
III. Description and purpose of the course: General Education courses must be introductory
and foundational. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/gened/GEPreamble_final.htm
Instructor
Phone / Email
Human rights around the entire world revolve around the value placed on human life and on the
sense of responsibility that human beings have toward others in protecting that value. These
values emerge out of religious and philosophical beliefs, political contexts, and struggles with
powerful traditions, vested interests, and claims of national sovereignty. Thoughtful and
courageous men and women, often at great risk to themselves, determined that all members of
the human family ought to be accorded dignity and respect, irrespective of their gender, race,
class, nationality, or any other form of difference. Their ethical values, struggles, failures, and
successes provide the basis of this course which serves as an introduction to the subject of
human rights.
IV. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Group VIII – Ethics and Human Values
This course rigorously explores the basic
concepts and forms of reasoning that define
and distinguish the wide range of different
traditions of ethical thought relating to the
value of human life and responsibilities
toward others.
Group X – Indigenous and Global Perspectives This course adopts a truly global perspective
and a broad focus with respect to time, place,
and the subject matter of human rights. It is
transnational, multi-cultural, and multi-ethic
as it investigates the various linkages that
range across time and place that led to the
creation and then implementation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights –
“for all people.”
V. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Group VIII – Ethics and Human Values
Students will be able to analyze, critically
evaluate, and apply basic ethical concepts to
historical and contemporary issues of human
rights, including such matters as gender and
racial discrimination, civil and political
rights, economic and social rights, and the
use of torture.
Group X – Indigenous and Global Perspectives
Students will be able to place human
behavior and cultural ideas into a wider
global and indigenous framework;
demonstrate an awareness of the diverse
ways that humans structure their lives; and,
especially, analyze and compare the rights
and responsibilities of those living in the
21st century including those of their own
societies and cultures.
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ⇓ The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
History 335E
Spring Semester 2008
LA 203, MWF 2-3
Professor Lauren
THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL
HUMAN RIGHTS
This course deals with the dramatic and revolutionary history of human rights. Fiercely
contending against powerful traditions, vested interests, and claims of national sovereignty,
thoughtful and courageous men and women, often at great risk to themselves, determined that
all members of the human family ought to be accorded dignity and respect. They envisioned a
world in which all persons, irrespective of their gender, race, class, religion, ethnicity,
nationality, or any other form of difference, would be treated equally and without prejudice or
discrimination. Their values, struggles, failures, and successes provide the basis of the course.
23 January
Themes of Human Rights in History and the Contemporary World:
An Introduction to the Course and the Issues
25 January
Human Rights in Historical Context:
Gender, Race, Class and Caste
Readings: *Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 1-3.
invest approximately two hours on the Human Rights
Watch Web site at www.hrw.org
**********
28 January
Human Rights in Historical Context:
Religious and Political Belief, Nationality, Ethnicity, and Torture
30 January
The Influence of Religious Belief and Ethical Values of Responsibility:
Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Confucianism
1 February
The Influence of Religious Belief and Ethical Values of Responsibility:
Christianity and Islam
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 4-10.
Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear, pp. 170-175, 248.
**********
International Human Rights
Page 2
4 February
The Influence of Philosophical Thought and Ethical Values of
Responsibility: Natural Law and Natural Rights
6 February
Upheaval in an Age of Democratic Revolution:
The American Revolution, Constitution, and Bill of Rights
8 February
Upheaval in an Age of Democratic Revolution:
The French Revolution and Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 10-21.
Hochschild, Bury the Chains, pp. 1-142.
**********
11 February
The State of Human Rights in the World at the End of the 18th Century:
Visions and Reality
13 February
Slaves Seen as Human Beings:
Abolishing the International Slave Trade
15 February
Amistad, I
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 21-46.
Hochschild, Bury the Chains, pp. 142-255.
**********
18 February
HOLIDAY
20 February
Amistad, II
22 February
Emancipating Slaves and Serfs:
The Issue of Race and Class
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 46-53.
Hochschild, Bury the Chains, pp. 256-372.
**********
25 February
The Early Struggle for Women’s Rights:
The Issue of Gender Equality
International Human Rights
Page 3
27 February
Fighting for Worker's Rights During the Industrial Revolution:
The Issue of Class
29 February
Caring for the Rights of the Wounded:
Humanitarian Law and the Creation of the International Red Cross
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 53-70.
**********
3 March
Internationalization, World War, and Revolution:
Developments from1900-1918
5 March
Peacemaking and Human Rights:
Rights Proclaimed and Rights Denied at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919
7 March
New Departures in Human Rights:
The League of Nations, 1919-1939
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 71-102
Power, A Problem from Hell, pp. 1-16.
**********
10 March
Human Rights Under Attack:
The Gathering Storm of War in Asia and Europe, 1931-1939
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 103-134.
Power, A Problem from Hell, pp. 17-26.
12 March
Discussion for Preparation
14 March
MID-TERM EXAMINATION
**********
17 March
The Crusade for Human Rights During World War II:
1939-1945
19 March
Discussion for Assessment (Mid-Term Examinations returned)
International Human Rights
21 March
Page 4
Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide in the Holocaust:
Night and Fog
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 135-154.
Power, A Problem from Hell, pp. 26-60.
**********
24-28 March SPRING BREAK
**********
31 March
The Great Powers and National Sovereignty Versus a "People's Peace":
The Contests and Different Visions of 1944-1945
2 April
Peacemaking and Human Rights at the San Francisco Conference:
Ethics, Politics, and Diplomacy, 1945
4 April
Establishing the United Nations and Launching the Human Rights
Revolution
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 154-198.
Power, A Problem from Hell, pp. 61-85.
**********
7 April
Proclaiming a Vision "For All Peoples and All Nations":
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
9 April
The Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Right of Self-Determination:
The Revolution Against Imperialism and the Impact of Asia, Africa, and Latin
America
11 April
The Right to Racial Equality:
The Struggle Against Segregation and Apartheid
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 199-232.
Power, A Power from Hell, pp. 86-169.
Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear, pp. 82-159.
**********
14 April
Setting Standards and Creating International Law for Human Rights
International Human Rights
Page 5
16 April
The Mechanics, Ethics, and Politics of Enforcing Human Rights Treaties
18 April
Amnesty International and the Impact of Non-Governmental Organizations
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 233-264.
Power, A Problem from Hell, pp. 170-327.
Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear, pp. 167-207.
invest approximately two hours visiting the Web site of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights at www.unhchr.org
**********
21 April
From Sovereign Impunity Toward International Accountability:
Contemporary Developments in International Criminal Law
23 April
Human Rights, Ethics, and the “War Against Terrorism”
25 April
Visions and Reality in the World Today, I:
Rights – and Wrongs – in a Variety of Cases and Countries
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 264-281.
Power, A Problem from Hell, pp. 328-441.
Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear, pp. 208-291.
invest approximately two hours visiting the Web site for Amnesty
International at http://www.amnesty.org
**********
28 April
Visions and Reality in the World Today, II:
Rights -- and Wrongs -- in a Variety of Cases and Countries
30 April
Conclusion:
Human Rights in History, at the Present, and in the Future
2 May Discussion for Preparation
Readings: Lauren, Visions Seen, pp. 282-304.
Power, A Problem from Hell, pp. 442-516.
Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear, pp. 292-361.
**********
International Human Rights
Page 6
8 May FINAL EXAMINATION
3:20 pm - 5:20 pm
(This comprehensive essay exam is designed as a two-hour final, but an
additional hour will be provided for those students who desire extra time
to think and write, ending at 6:20 pm.)
History 335E is an upper-division course focused on ethical issues and designed to emphasize
the following educational objectives: knowledge (acquiring information and terminology),
comprehension (distinguishing meaning and significance), application (understanding
relevance to other situations), analysis (reasoning and clarification of relationships), synthesis
(combining and rearranging knowledge), and evaluation (weighing arguments against each
other and making judgments based upon evidence). Students will be given two opportunities to
demonstrate their skills in these areas with two essay examinations: a Mid-Term Examination
worth 40% and a comprehensive Final Examination worth 60% of their grade.
All University of Montana regulations concerning deadlines for drop-adds, grading options,
plagiarism, and other related matters apply. Students with questions about any of these should
consult the University Catalog or Professor Lauren.
*Note: Author’s royalties paid on this book when used at The University of Montana are given
to an account for UM student scholarships.
*Please note: As an instructor of a general education course, you will be expected to provide
sample assessment items and corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.